The City of New Westminster isn’t ready to put the Q to Q ferry into dry dock just yet.
The ferry service, which has been running between Queensborough and the Quay since May 19, was set to end on Oct. 28, but council has approved a staff recommendation to extend the contact with Bowen Land and Sea Taxi to operate the pilot ferry service until May 17, 2019 on a reduced schedule.
City council also directed staff to prepare a business case for a long-term, year-round ferry service for council’s consideration in the upcoming budget process and approved $300,000 from the engineering department’s 2018 capital budget to accommodate the operating costs for extending the ferry service.
“When we first started this project, we weren’t sure how well the community response was going to be and the usage, but I think the estimates between May and October are going to land between 50,000 and 60,000 trips, and that definitely has exceeded our expectations and has shown a strong demand to be able to connect our communities that way,” said Mayor Jonathan Cote. “To me, I think the Q to Q project has been very successful. There are opportunities to improve the service, but I really see it as an important opportunity, in particular, to connect the Queensborough neighbourhood with the rest of New Westminster.”
According to a staff report, a total of 42,671 passenger trips were completed aboard the two 12-person water taxies between May 19 and Aug. 31, and an additional 20,000 trips are anticipated in September and October.
Staff looked at a number of options for extending the ferry service to the end May 2019, ultimately supporting an option that provides weekday service between 7 and 9 a.m. on a reservation-only basis (if no reservations are made, the service wouldn’t run) and noon to 8 p.m. (Monday to Thursday), noon to 9 p.m. on Fridays and full weekend service.
Coun. Patrick Johnstone said the city needs to test whether there is going to be a commuter need for the service and see whether a morning schedule or reservations should be available.
Steve Cundy, a consultant hired to serve as the project manager, said the ferry operator has been providing valuable feedback on a daily basis.
“When compared with the bus service in Queensborough, the numbers are actually comparable. That’s a really good way of looking at it in terms of who is using the service itself. We are looking into that further, in terms of what those numbers look like and who is using the service,” he said. “One thing that really comes to mind is when we should operate the ferry in the morning.”
According to Cundy, the city has received some feedback that 7 a.m. isn’t an early enough start to the service, with some preferring it begin running at 6 or 6:30 a.m.
“We are looking at doing a questionnaire in the next coming weeks as well,” he said. “A few of those questions will address the timing of the ferry. Based on the data we have seen, the ferry is being really well used from lunchtime onwards, certainly from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the afternoons, but there is a bit of a dark period between 9 a.m. and noon. We’d like to address that in the questionnaire to get a bit more solid feedback about what passengers want to see.”
Coun. Chuck Puchmayr said he’s pleased the city is extending the service but still hopes there will one day be a land-based crossing between the Quay and Queensborough. He said the city will continue to talk to Southern Rail about a crossing as it may eventually need to rebuild the train bridge running from the Quay to Queensborough.
“I hope that in the future there is a new train bridge and it also has the capacity to take people across in a quicker, more efficient method,” he said. “Until then, this is a great way to travel.”
The city launched the ferry service when plans to build a pedestrian/cyclist overpass between the two neighbourhoods were put on hold because of construction costs.
Residents have been petitioning city council to extend the ferry service, as some are using it regularly for recreation and some students and workers using it for commuting purposes. Queensborough residents Laura Ranalletta and Susan Desmarais appeared before council Monday night offering to provide input about ways of ensuring the project meets the community’s needs and is successful.
